This is Info file standards.info, produced by Makeinfo-1.55 from the
input file ./standards.texi.

START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Standards: (standards).        GNU coding standards.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   GNU Coding Standards Copyright (C) 1992, 1993, 1994 Free Software
Foundation

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that
the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a
translation approved by the Free Software Foundation.


File: standards.info,  Node: Using Extensions,  Next: System Functions,  Prev: Names,  Up: Top

Using Non-standard Features
***************************

   Many GNU facilities that already exist support a number of convenient
extensions over the comparable Unix facilities.  Whether to use these
extensions in implementing your program is a difficult question.

   On the one hand, using the extensions can make a cleaner program.
On the other hand, people will not be able to build the program unless
the other GNU tools are available.  This might cause the program to
work on fewer kinds of machines.

   With some extensions, it might be easy to provide both alternatives.
For example, you can define functions with a "keyword" `INLINE' and
define that as a macro to expand into either `inline' or nothing,
depending on the compiler.

   In general, perhaps it is best not to use the extensions if you can
straightforwardly do without them, but to use the extensions if they
are a big improvement.

   An exception to this rule are the large, established programs (such
as Emacs) which run on a great variety of systems.  Such programs would
be broken by use of GNU extensions.

   Another exception is for programs that are used as part of
compilation: anything that must be compiled with other compilers in
order to bootstrap the GNU compilation facilities.  If these require
the GNU compiler, then no one can compile them without having them
installed already.  That would be no good.

   Since most computer systems do not yet implement ANSI C, using the
ANSI C features is effectively using a GNU extension, so the same
considerations apply.  (Except for ANSI features that we discourage,
such as trigraphs--don't ever use them.)


File: standards.info,  Node: System Functions,  Next: Semantics,  Prev: Using Extensions,  Up: Top

Calling System Functions
************************

   C implementations differ substantially.  ANSI C reduces but does not
eliminate the incompatibilities; meanwhile, many users wish to compile
GNU software with pre-ANSI compilers.  This chapter gives
recommendations for how to use the more or less standard C library
functions to avoid unnecessary loss of portability.

   * Don't use the value of `sprintf'.  It returns the number of
     characters written on some systems, but not on all systems.

   * Don't declare system functions explicitly.

     Almost any declaration for a system function is wrong on some
     system.  To minimize conflicts, leave it to the system header
     files to declare system functions.  If the headers don't declare a
     function, let it remain undeclared.

     While it may seem unclean to use a function without declaring it,
     in practice this works fine for most system library functions on
     the systems where this really happens.  The problem is only
     theoretical.  By contrast, actual declarations have frequently
     caused actual conflicts.

   * If you must declare a system function, don't specify the argument
     types.  Use an old-style declaration, not an ANSI prototype.  The
     more you specify about the function, the more likely a conflict.

   * In particular, don't unconditionally declare `malloc' or `realloc'.

     Most GNU programs use those functions just once, in functions
     conventionally named `xmalloc' and `xrealloc'.  These functions
     call `malloc' and `realloc', respectively, and check the results.

     Because `xmalloc' and `xrealloc' are defined in your program, you
     can declare them in other files without any risk of type conflict.

     On most systems, `int' is the same length as a pointer; thus, the
     calls to `malloc' and `realloc' work fine.  For the few
     exceptional systems (mostly 64-bit machines), you can use
     *conditionalized* declarations of `malloc' and `realloc'--or put
     these declarations in configuration files specific to those
     systems.

   * The string functions require special treatment.  Some Unix systems
     have a header file `string.h'; other have `strings.h'.  Neither
     file name is portable.  There are two things you can do: use
     Autoconf to figure out which file to include, or don't include
     either file.

   * If you don't include either strings file, you can't get
     declarations for the string functions from the header file in the
     usual way.

     That causes less of a problem than you might think.  The newer ANSI
     string functions are off-limits anyway because many systems still
     don't support them.  The string functions you can use are these:

          strcpy   strncpy   strcat   strncat
          strlen   strcmp   strncmp
          strchr   strrchr

     The copy and concatenate functions work fine without a declaration
     as long as you don't use their values.  Using their values without
     a declaration fails on systems where the width of a pointer
     differs from the width of `int', and perhaps in other cases.  It
     is trivial to avoid using their values, so do that.

     The compare functions and `strlen' work fine without a declaration
     on most systems, possibly all the ones that GNU software runs on.
     You may find it necessary to declare them *conditionally* on a few
     systems.

     The search functions must be declared to return `char *'.  Luckily,
     there is no variation in the data type they return.  But there is
     variation in their names.  Some systems give these functions the
     names `index' and `rindex'; other systems use the names `strchr'
     and `strrchr'.  Some systems support both pairs of names, but
     neither pair works on all systems.

     You should pick a single pair of names and use it throughout your
     program.  (Nowadays, it is better to choose `strchr' and
     `strrchr'.)  Declare both of those names as functions returning
     `char *'.  On systems which don't support those names, define them
     as macros in terms of the other pair.  For example, here is what
     to put at the beginning of your file (or in a header) if you want
     to use the names `strchr' and `strrchr' throughout:

          #ifndef HAVE_STRCHR
          #define strchr index
          #endif
          #ifndef HAVE_STRRCHR
          #define strrchr rindex
          #endif
          
          char *strchr ();
          char *strrchr ();

   Here we assume that `HAVE_STRCHR' and `HAVE_STRRCHR' are macros
defined in systems where the corresponding functions exist.  One way to
get them properly defined is to use Autoconf.


File: standards.info,  Node: Semantics,  Next: Errors,  Prev: System Functions,  Up: Top

Program Behavior for All Programs
*********************************

   Avoid arbitrary limits on the length or number of *any* data
structure, including filenames, lines, files, and symbols, by allocating
all data structures dynamically.  In most Unix utilities, "long lines
are silently truncated".  This is not acceptable in a GNU utility.

   Utilities reading files should not drop NUL characters, or any other
nonprinting characters *including those with codes above 0177*.  The
only sensible exceptions would be utilities specifically intended for
interface to certain types of printers that can't handle those
characters.

   Check every system call for an error return, unless you know you
wish to ignore errors.  Include the system error text (from `perror' or
equivalent) in *every* error message resulting from a failing system
call, as well as the name of the file if any and the name of the
utility.  Just "cannot open foo.c" or "stat failed" is not sufficient.

   Check every call to `malloc' or `realloc' to see if it returned
zero.  Check `realloc' even if you are making the block smaller; in a
system that rounds block sizes to a power of 2, `realloc' may get a
different block if you ask for less space.

   In Unix, `realloc' can destroy the storage block if it returns zero.
GNU `realloc' does not have this bug: if it fails, the original block
is unchanged.  Feel free to assume the bug is fixed.  If you wish to
run your program on Unix, and wish to avoid lossage in this case, you
can use the GNU `malloc'.

   You must expect `free' to alter the contents of the block that was
freed.  Anything you want to fetch from the block, you must fetch before
calling `free'.

   Use `getopt_long' to decode arguments, unless the argument syntax
makes this unreasonable.

   When static storage is to be written in during program execution, use
explicit C code to initialize it.  Reserve C initialized declarations
for data that will not be changed.

   Try to avoid low-level interfaces to obscure Unix data structures
(such as file directories, utmp, or the layout of kernel memory), since
these are less likely to work compatibly.  If you need to find all the
files in a directory, use `readdir' or some other high-level interface.
These will be supported compatibly by GNU.

   By default, the GNU system will provide the signal handling
functions of BSD and of POSIX.  So GNU software should be written to use
these.

   In error checks that detect "impossible" conditions, just abort.
There is usually no point in printing any message.  These checks
indicate the existence of bugs.  Whoever wants to fix the bugs will have
to read the source code and run a debugger.  So explain the problem with
comments in the source.  The relevant data will be in variables, which
are easy to examine with the debugger, so there is no point moving them
elsewhere.


File: standards.info,  Node: Errors,  Next: Libraries,  Prev: Semantics,  Up: Top

Formatting Error Messages
*************************

   Error messages from compilers should look like this:

     SOURCE-FILE-NAME:LINENO: MESSAGE

   Error messages from other noninteractive programs should look like
this:

     PROGRAM:SOURCE-FILE-NAME:LINENO: MESSAGE

when there is an appropriate source file, or like this:

     PROGRAM: MESSAGE

when there is no relevant source file.

   In an interactive program (one that is reading commands from a
terminal), it is better not to include the program name in an error
message.  The place to indicate which program is running is in the
prompt or with the screen layout.  (When the same program runs with
input from a source other than a terminal, it is not interactive and
would do best to print error messages using the noninteractive style.)

   The string MESSAGE should not begin with a capital letter when it
follows a program name and/or filename.  Also, it should not end with a
period.

   Error messages from interactive programs, and other messages such as
usage messages, should start with a capital letter.  But they should not
end with a period.


File: standards.info,  Node: Libraries,  Next: Portability,  Prev: Errors,  Up: Top

Library Behavior
****************

   Try to make library functions reentrant.  If they need to do dynamic
storage allocation, at least try to avoid any nonreentrancy aside from
that of `malloc' itself.

   Here are certain name conventions for libraries, to avoid name
conflicts.

   Choose a name prefix for the library, more than two characters long.
All external function and variable names should start with this prefix.
In addition, there should only be one of these in any given library
member.  This usually means putting each one in a separate source file.

   An exception can be made when two external symbols are always used
together, so that no reasonable program could use one without the
other; then they can both go in the same file.

   External symbols that are not documented entry points for the user
should have names beginning with `_'.  They should also contain the
chosen name prefix for the library, to prevent collisions with other
libraries.  These can go in the same files with user entry points if
you like.

   Static functions and variables can be used as you like and need not
fit any naming convention.


File: standards.info,  Node: Portability,  Next: User Interfaces,  Prev: Libraries,  Up: Top

Portability As It Applies to GNU
********************************

   Much of what is called "portability" in the Unix world refers to
porting to different Unix versions.  This is a secondary consideration
for GNU software, because its primary purpose is to run on top of one
and only one kernel, the GNU kernel, compiled with one and only one C
compiler, the GNU C compiler.  The amount and kinds of variation among
GNU systems on different cpu's will be like the variation among Berkeley
4.3 systems on different cpu's.

   All users today run GNU software on non-GNU systems.  So supporting a
variety of non-GNU systems is desirable; simply not paramount.  The
easiest way to achieve portability to a reasonable range of systems is
to use Autoconf.  It's unlikely that your program needs to know more
information about the host machine than Autoconf can provide, simply
because most of the programs that need such knowledge have already been
written.

   It is difficult to be sure exactly what facilities the GNU kernel
will provide, since it isn't finished yet.  Therefore, assume you can
use anything in 4.3; just avoid using the format of semi-internal data
bases (e.g., directories) when there is a higher-level alternative
(`readdir').

   You can freely assume any reasonably standard facilities in the C
language, libraries or kernel, because we will find it necessary to
support these facilities in the full GNU system, whether or not we have
already done so.  The fact that there may exist kernels or C compilers
that lack these facilities is irrelevant as long as the GNU kernel and
C compiler support them.

   It remains necessary to worry about differences among cpu types, such
as the difference in byte ordering and alignment restrictions.  It's
unlikely that 16-bit machines will ever be supported by GNU, so there
is no point in spending any time to consider the possibility that an
int will be less than 32 bits.

   You can assume that all pointers have the same format, regardless of
the type they point to, and that this is really an integer.  There are
some weird machines where this isn't true, but they aren't important;
don't waste time catering to them.  Besides, eventually we will put
function prototypes into all GNU programs, and that will probably make
your program work even on weird machines.

   Since some important machines (including the 68000) are big-endian,
it is important not to assume that the address of an `int' object is
also the address of its least-significant byte.  Thus, don't make the
following mistake:

     int c;
     ...
     while ((c = getchar()) != EOF)
             write(file_descriptor, &c, 1);

   You can assume that it is reasonable to use a meg of memory.  Don't
strain to reduce memory usage unless it can get to that level.  If your
program creates complicated data structures, just make them in core and
give a fatal error if malloc returns zero.

   If a program works by lines and could be applied to arbitrary
user-supplied input files, it should keep only a line in memory, because
this is not very hard and users will want to be able to operate on input
files that are bigger than will fit in core all at once.


File: standards.info,  Node: User Interfaces,  Next: Documentation,  Prev: Portability,  Up: Top

Standards for Command Line Interfaces
*************************************

   Please don't make the behavior of a utility depend on the name used
to invoke it.  It is useful sometimes to make a link to a utility with
a different name, and that should not change what it does.

   Instead, use a run time option or a compilation switch or both to
select among the alternate behaviors.

   Likewise, please don't make the behavior of the program depend on the
type of output device it is used with.  Device independence is an
important principle of the system's design; do not compromise it merely
to save someone from typing an option now and then.

   If you think one behavior is most useful when the output is to a
terminal, and another is most useful when the output is a file or a
pipe, then it is usually best to make the default behavior the one that
is useful with output to a terminal, and have an option for the other
behavior.

   Compatibility requires certain programs to depend on the type of
output device.  It would be disastrous if `ls' or `sh' did not do so in
the way all users expect.  In some of these cases, we supplement the
program with a preferred alternate version that does not depend on the
output device type.  For example, we provide a `dir' program much like
`ls' except that its default output format is always multi-column
format.

   It is a good idea to follow the POSIX guidelines for the
command-line options of a program.  The easiest way to do this is to use
`getopt' to parse them.  Note that the GNU version of `getopt' will
normally permit options anywhere among the arguments unless the special
argument `--' is used.  This is not what POSIX specifies; it is a GNU
extension.

   Please define long-named options that are equivalent to the
single-letter Unix-style options.  We hope to make GNU more user
friendly this way.  This is easy to do with the GNU function
`getopt_long'.

   One of the advantages of long-named options is that they can be
consistent from program to program.  For example, users should be able
to expect the "verbose" option of any GNU program which has one, to be
spelled precisely `--verbose'.  To achieve this uniformity, look at the
table of common long-option names when you choose the option names for
your program.  The table appears below.

   If you use names not already in the table, please send
`gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu' a list of them, with their meanings, so we can
update the table.

   It is usually a good idea for file names given as ordinary arguments
to be input files only; any output files would be specified using
options (preferably `-o').  Even if you allow an output file name as an
ordinary argument for compatibility, try to provide a suitable option
as well.  This will lead to more consistency among GNU utilities, so
that there are fewer idiosyncracies for users to remember.

   Programs should support an option `--version' which prints the
program's version number on standard output and exits successfully, and
an option `--help' which prints option usage information on standard
output and exits successfully.  These options should inhibit the normal
function of the command; they should do nothing except print the
requested information.

`auto-check'
     `-a' in `recode'.

`auto-reference'
     `-A' in `ptx'.

`after-date'
     `-N' in `tar'.

`all'
     `-a' in `du', `ls', `nm', `stty', `uname', and `unexpand'.

`all-text'
     `-a' in `diff'.

`almost-all'
     `-A' in `ls'.

`append'
     `-a' in `etags', `tee', `time'; `-r' in `tar'.

`archive'
     `-a' in `cp'.

`arglength'
     `-l' in `m4'.

`ascii'
     `-a' in `diff'.

`assume-new'
     `-W' in Make.

`assume-old'
     `-o' in Make.

`backward-search'
     `-B' in etags.

`batch'
     Used in GDB.

`baud'
     Used in GDB.

`before'
     `-b' in `tac'.

`binary'
     `-b' in `cpio' and `diff'.

`block-size'
     Used in `cpio' and `tar'.

`blocks'
     `-b' in `head' and `tail'.

`break-file'
     `-b' in `ptx'.

`brief'
     Used in various programs to make output shorter.

`bytes'
     `-c' in `head', `split', and `tail'.

`c++'
     `-C' in `etags'.

`catenate'
     `-A' in `tar'.

`cd'
     Used in various programs to specify the directory to use.

`changes'
     `-c' in `chgrp' and `chown'.

`classify'
     `-F' in `ls'.

`colons'
     `-c' in `recode'.

`command'
     `-c' in `su'; `-x' in GDB.

`compare'
     `-d' in `tar'.

`compress'
     `-Z' in `tar'.

`concatenate'
     `-A' in `tar'.

`confirmation'
     `-w' in `tar'.

`context'
     Used in `diff'.

`copyright'
     `-C' in `ptx' and `recode'.

`core'
     Used in GDB.

`count'
     `-q' in `who'.

`count-links'
     `-l' in `du'.

`create'
     Used in `tar' and `cpio'.

`cxref'
     `-x' in `etags'.

`date'
     `-d' in `touch'.

`debug'
     `-d' in Make and `m4'; `-t' in Bison.

`define'
     `-D' in `m4'.

`defines'
     `-d' in Bison and `etags'.

`delete'
     `-D' in `tar'.

`dereference'
     `-L' in `chgrp', `chown', `cpio', `du', `ls', and `tar'.

`dereference-args'
     `-D' in `du'.

`diacritics'
     `-d' in `recode'.

`dictionary-order'
     `-d' in `look'.

`diff'
     `-d' in `tar'.

`digits'
     `-n' in `csplit'.

`directory'
     Specify the directory to use, in various programs.  In `ls', it
     means to show directories themselves rather than their contents.
     In `rm' and `ln', it means to not treat links to directories
     specially.

`discard-all'
     `-x' in `strip'.

`discard-locals'
     `-X' in `strip'.

`diversions'
     `-N' in `m4'.

`dry-run'
     `-n' in Make.

`ed'
     `-e' in `diff'.

`elide-empty-files'
     `-z' in `csplit'.

`entire-new-file'
     `-N' in `diff'.

`environment-overrides'
     `-e' in Make.

`eof'
     `-e' in `xargs'.

`epoch'
     Used in GDB.

`error-limit'
     Used in Makeinfo.

`error-output'
     `-o' in `m4'.

`escape'
     `-b' in `ls'.

`exclude-from'
     `-X' in `tar'.

`exec'
     Used in GDB.

`exit'
     `-x' in `xargs'.

`expand-tabs'
     `-t' in `diff'.

`expression'
     `-e' in `sed'.

`extern-only'
     `-g' in `nm'.

`extract'
     `-i' in `cpio'; `-x' in `tar'.

`faces'
     `-f' in `finger'.

`fast'
     `-f' in `su'.

`file'
     `-f' in `info', Make, `mt', and `tar'; `-n' in `sed'; `-r' in
     `touch'.

`file-prefix'
     `-b' in Bison.

`file-type'
     `-F' in `ls'.

`files-from'
     `-T' in `tar'.

`fill-column'
     Used in Makeinfo.

`flag-truncation'
     `-F' in `ptx'.

`fixed-output-files'
     `-y' in Bison.

`follow'
     `-f' in `tail'.

`footnote-style'
     Used in Makeinfo.

`force'
     `-f' in `cp', `ln', `mv', and `rm'.

`format'
     Used in `ls', `time', and `ptx'.

`forward-search'
     `-F' in `etags'.

`fullname'
     Used in GDB.

`gap-size'
     `-g' in `ptx'.

`get'
     `-x' in `tar'.

`graphic'
     `-i' in `ul'.

`graphics'
     `-g' in `recode'.

`group'
     `-g' in `install'.

`gzip'
     `-z' in `tar'.

`hashsize'
     `-H' in `m4'.

`header'
     `-h' in `objdump' and `recode'

`heading'
     `-H' in `who'.

`help'
     Used to ask for brief usage information.

`hide-control-chars'
     `-q' in `ls'.

`idle'
     `-u' in `who'.

`ifdef'
     `-D' in `diff'.

`ignore'
     `-I' in `ls'; `-x' in `recode'.

`ignore-all-space'
     `-w' in `diff'.

`ignore-backups'
     `-B' in `ls'.

`ignore-blank-lines'
     `-B' in `diff'.

`ignore-case'
     `-f' in `look' and `ptx'; `-i' in `diff'.

`ignore-errors'
     `-i' in Make.

`ignore-file'
     `-i' in `ptx'.

`ignore-indentation'
     `-S' in `etags'.

`ignore-init-file'
     `-f' in Oleo.

`ignore-interrupts'
     `-i' in `tee'.

`ignore-matching-lines'
     `-I' in `diff'.

`ignore-space-change'
     `-b' in `diff'.

`ignore-zeros'
     `-i' in `tar'.

`include'
     `-i' in `etags'; `-I' in `m4'.

`include-dir'
     `-I' in Make.

`incremental'
     `-G' in `tar'.

`info'
     `-i', `-l', and `-m' in Finger.

`initial'
     `-i' in `expand'.

`initial-tab'
     `-T' in `diff'.

`inode'
     `-i' in `ls'.

`interactive'
     `-i' in `cp', `ln', `mv', `rm'; `-e' in `m4'; `-p' in `xargs';
     `-w' in `tar'.

`jobs'
     `-j' in Make.

`just-print'
     `-n' in Make.

`keep-going'
     `-k' in Make.

`keep-files'
     `-k' in `csplit'.

`kilobytes'
     `-k' in `du' and `ls'.

`line-bytes'
     `-C' in `split'.

`lines'
     Used in `split', `head', and `tail'.

`link'
     `-l' in `cpio'.

`list'
     `-t' in `cpio'; `-l' in `recode'.

`list'
     `-t' in `tar'.

`literal'
     `-N' in `ls'.

`load-average'
     `-l' in Make.

`login'
     Used in `su'.

`machine'
     No listing of which programs already use this; someone should
     check to see if any actually do and tell `gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu'.

`macro-name'
     `-M' in `ptx'.

`mail'
     `-m' in `hello' and `uname'.

`make-directories'
     `-d' in `cpio'.

`makefile'
     `-f' in Make.

`mapped'
     Used in GDB.

`max-args'
     `-n' in `xargs'.

`max-chars'
     `-n' in `xargs'.

`max-lines'
     `-l' in `xargs'.

`max-load'
     `-l' in Make.

`max-procs'
     `-P' in `xargs'.

`mesg'
     `-T' in `who'.

`message'
     `-T' in `who'.

`minimal'
     `-d' in `diff'.

`mode'
     `-m' in `install', `mkdir', and `mkfifo'.

`modification-time'
     `-m' in `tar'.

`multi-volume'
     `-M' in `tar'.

`name-prefix'
     `-a' in Bison.

`new-file'
     `-W' in Make.

`no-builtin-rules'
     `-r' in Make.

`no-create'
     `-c' in `touch'.

`no-defines'
     `-D' in `etags'.

`no-dereference'
     `-d' in `cp'.

`no-keep-going'
     `-S' in Make.

`no-lines'
     `-l' in Bison.

`no-prof'
     `-e' in `gprof'.

`no-sort'
     `-p' in `nm'.

`no-split'
     Used in Makeinfo.

`no-static'
     `-a' in `gprof'.

`no-time'
     `-E' in `gprof'.

`no-validate'
     Used in Makeinfo.

`no-warn'
     Used in various programs to inhibit warnings.

`node'
     `-n' in `info'.

`nodename'
     `-n' in `uname'.

`nonmatching'
     `-f' in `cpio'.

`nstuff'
     `-n' in `objdump'.

`null'
     `-0' in `xargs'.

`number'
     `-n' in `cat'.

`number-nonblank'
     `-b' in `cat'.

`numeric-sort'
     `-n' in `nm'.

`numeric-uid-gid'
     `-n' in `cpio' and `ls'.

`nx'
     Used in GDB.

`old-archive'
     `-o' in `tar'.

`old-file'
     `-o' in Make.

`one-file-system'
     `-l' in `tar', `cp', and `du'.

`only-file'
     `-o' in `ptx'.

`only-prof'
     `-f' in `gprof'.

`only-time'
     `-F' in `gprof'.

`output'
     In various programs, specify the output file name.

`override'
     `-o' in `rm'.

`owner'
     `-o' in `install'.

`paginate'
     `-l' in `diff'.

`paragraph-indent'
     Used in Makeinfo.

`parents'
     `-p' in `mkdir' and `rmdir'.

`pass-all'
     `-p' in `ul'.

`pass-through'
     `-p' in `cpio'.

`port'
     `-P' in `finger'.

`portability'
     `-c' in `cpio' and `tar'.

`prefix-builtins'
     `-P' in `m4'.

`prefix'
     `-f' in `csplit'.

`preserve'
     Used in `tar' and `cp'.

`preserve-environment'
     `-p' in `su'.

`preserve-modification-time'
     `-m' in `cpio'.

`preserve-order'
     `-s' in `tar'.

`preserve-permissions'
     `-p' in `tar'.

`print'
     `-l' in `diff'.

`print-chars'
     `-L' in `cmp'.

`print-data-base'
     `-p' in Make.

`print-directory'
     `-w' in Make.

`print-file-name'
     `-o' in `nm'.

`print-symdefs'
     `-s' in `nm'.

`question'
     `-q' in Make.

`quiet'
     Used in many programs to inhibit the usual output.  *Note:* every
     program accepting `--quiet' should accept `--silent' as a synonym.

`quote-name'
     `-Q' in `ls'.

`rcs'
     `-n' in `diff'.

`read-full-blocks'
     `-B' in `tar'.

`readnow'
     Used in GDB.

`recon'
     `-n' in Make.

`record-number'
     `-R' in `tar'.

`recursive'
     Used in `chgrp', `chown', `cp', `ls', `diff', and `rm'.

`reference-limit'
     Used in Makeinfo.

`references'
     `-r' in `ptx'.

`regex'
     `-r' in `tac'.

`release'
     `-r' in `uname'.

`relocation'
     `-r' in `objdump'.

`rename'
     `-r' in `cpio'.

`replace'
     `-i' in `xargs'.

`report-identical-files'
     `-s' in `diff'.

`reset-access-time'
     `-a' in `cpio'.

`reverse'
     `-r' in `ls' and `nm'.

`reversed-ed'
     `-f' in `diff'.

`right-side-defs'
     `-R' in `ptx'.

`same-order'
     `-s' in `tar'.

`same-permissions'
     `-p' in `tar'.

`save'
     `-g' in `stty'.

`se'
     Used in GDB.

`sentence-regexp'
     `-S' in `ptx'.

`separate-dirs'
     `-S' in `du'.

`separator'
     `-s' in `tac'.

`sequence'
     Used by `recode' to chose files or pipes for sequencing passes.

`shell'
     `-s' in `su'.

`show-all'
     `-A' in `cat'.

`show-c-function'
     `-p' in `diff'.

`show-ends'
     `-E' in `cat'.

`show-function-line'
     `-F' in `diff'.

`show-tabs'
     `-T' in `cat'.

`silent'
     Used in many programs to inhibit the usual output.  *Note:* every
     program accepting `--silent' should accept `--quiet' as a synonym.

`size'
     `-s' in `ls'.

`sort'
     Used in `ls'.

`sparse'
     `-S' in `tar'.

`speed-large-files'
     `-H' in `diff'.

`squeeze-blank'
     `-s' in `cat'.

`starting-file'
     Used in `tar' and `diff' to specify which file within a directory
     to start processing with.

`stop'
     `-S' in Make.

`strict'
     `-s' in `recode'.

`strip'
     `-s' in `install'.

`strip-all'
     `-s' in `strip'.

`strip-debug'
     `-S' in `strip'.

`suffix'
     `-S' in `cp', `ln', `mv'.

`suffix-format'
     `-b' in `csplit'.

`sum'
     `-s' in `gprof'.

`summarize'
     `-s' in `du'.

`symbolic'
     `-s' in `ln'.

`symbols'
     Used in GDB and `objdump'.

`synclines'
     `-s' in `m4'.

`sysname'
     `-s' in `uname'.

`tabs'
     `-t' in `expand' and `unexpand'.

`tabsize'
     `-T' in `ls'.

`terminal'
     `-T' in `tput' and `ul'.

`text'
     `-a' in `diff'.

`time'
     Used in `ls' and `touch'.

`to-stdout'
     `-O' in `tar'.

`total'
     `-c' in `du'.

`touch'
     `-t' in Make, `ranlib', and `recode'.

`trace'
     `-t' in `m4'.

`traditional'
     `-t' in `hello'; `-G' in `m4' and `ptx'.

`tty'
     Used in GDB.

`typedefs'
     `-t' in `etags'.

`typedefs-and-c++'
     `-T' in `etags'.

`typeset-mode'
     `-t' in `ptx'.

`uncompress'
     `-z' in `tar'.

`unconditional'
     `-u' in `cpio'.

`undefine'
     `-U' in `m4'.

`undefined-only'
     `-u' in `nm'.

`update'
     `-u' in `cp', `etags', `mv', `tar'.

`verbose'
     Print more information about progress.  Many programs support this.

`verify'
     `-W' in `tar'.

`version'
     Print the version number.

`version-control'
     `-V' in `cp', `ln', `mv'.

`vgrind'
     `-v' in `etags'.

`volume'
     `-V' in `tar'.

`what-if'
     `-W' in Make.

`width'
     `-w' in `ls' and `ptx'.

`word-regexp'
     `-W' in `ptx'.

`writable'
     `-T' in `who'.

`zeros'
     `-z' in `gprof'.


File: standards.info,  Node: Documentation,  Next: Releases,  Prev: User Interfaces,  Up: Top

Documenting Programs
********************

   Please use Texinfo for documenting GNU programs.  See the Texinfo
manual, either the hardcopy or the version in the GNU Emacs Info
subsystem (`C-h i').  See existing GNU Texinfo files (e.g., those under
the `man/' directory in the GNU Emacs distribution) for examples.

   The title page of the manual should state the version of the program
which the manual applies to.  The Top node of the manual should also
contain this information.  If the manual is changing more frequently
than or independent of the program, also state a version number for the
manual in both of these places.

   The manual should document all command-line arguments and all
commands.  It should give examples of their use.  But don't organize
the manual as a list of features.  Instead, organize it by the concepts
a user will have before reaching that point in the manual.  Address the
goals that a user will have in mind, and explain how to accomplish
them.  Don't use Unix man pages as a model for how to write GNU
documentation; they are a bad example to follow.

   The manual should have a node named `PROGRAM Invocation' or
`Invoking PROGRAM', where PROGRAM stands for the name of the program
being described, as you would type it in the shell to run the program.
This node (together with its subnodes, if any) should describe the
program's command line arguments and how to run it (the sort of
information people would look in a man page for).  Start with an
`@example' containing a template for all the options and arguments that
the program uses.

   Alternatively, put a menu item in some menu whose item name fits one
of the above patterns.  This identifies the node which that item points
to as the node for this purpose, regardless of the node's actual name.

   There will be automatic features for specifying a program name and
quickly reading just this part of its manual.

   If one manual describes several programs, it should have such a node
for each program described.

   In addition to its manual, the package should have a file named
`NEWS' which contains a list of user-visible changes worth mentioning.
In each new release, add items to the front of the file and identify
the version they pertain to.  Don't discard old items; leave them in
the file after the newer items.  This way, a user upgrading from any
previous version can see what is new.

   If the `NEWS' file gets very long, move some of the older items into
a file named `ONEWS' and put a note at the end referring the user to
that file.

   Please do not use the term "pathname" that is used in Unix
documentation; use "file name" (two words) instead.  We use the term
"path" only for search paths, which are lists of file names.

   It is ok to supply a man page for the program as well as a Texinfo
manual if you wish to.  But keep in mind that supporting a man page
requires continual effort, each time the program is changed.  Any time
you spend on the man page is time taken away from more useful things you
could contribute.

   Thus, even if a user volunteers to donate a man page, you may find
this gift costly to accept.  Unless you have time on your hands, it may
be better to refuse the man page unless the same volunteer agrees to
take full responsibility for maintaining it--so that you can wash your
hands of it entirely.  If the volunteer ceases to do the job, then
don't feel obliged to pick it up yourself; it may be better to withdraw
the man page until another volunteer offers to carry on with it.

   Alternatively, if you expect the discrepancies to be small enough
that the man page remains useful, put a prominent note near the
beginning of the man page explaining that you don't maintain it and
that the Texinfo manual is more authoritative, and describing how to
access the Texinfo documentation.


File: standards.info,  Node: Releases,  Prev: Documentation,  Up: Top

Making Releases
***************

   Package the distribution of Foo version 69.96 in a gzipped tar file
named `foo-69.96.tar.gz'.  It should unpack into a subdirectory named
`foo-69.96'.

   Building and installing the program should never modify any of the
files contained in the distribution.  This means that all the files
that form part of the program in any way must be classified into "source
files" and "non-source files".  Source files are written by humans and
never changed automatically; non-source files are produced from source
files by programs under the control of the Makefile.

   Naturally, all the source files must be in the distribution.  It is
okay to include non-source files in the distribution, provided they are
up-to-date and machine-independent, so that building the distribution
normally will never modify them.  We commonly include non-source files
produced by Bison, Lex, TeX, and Makeinfo; this helps avoid unnecessary
dependencies between our distributions, so that users can install
whichever packages they want to install.

   Non-source files that might actually be modified by building and
installing the program should *never* be included in the distribution.
So if you do distribute non-source files, always make sure they are up
to date when you make a new distribution.

   Make sure that the directory into which the distribution unpacks (as
well as any subdirectories) are all world-writable (octal mode 777).
This is so that old versions of `tar' which preserve the ownership and
permissions of the files from the tar archive will be able to extract
all the files even if the user is unprivileged.

   Make sure that all the files in the distribution are world-readable.

   Make sure that no file name in the distribution is more than 14
characters long.  Likewise, no file created by building the program
should have a name longer than 14 characters.  The reason for this is
that some systems adhere to a foolish interpretation of the POSIX
standard, and refuse to open a longer name, rather than truncating as
they did in the past.

   Don't include any symbolic links in the distribution itself.  If the
tar file contains symbolic links, then people cannot even unpack it on
systems that don't support symbolic links.  Also, don't use multiple
names for one file in different directories, because certain file
systems cannot handle this and that prevents unpacking the distribution.

   Try to make sure that all the file names will be unique on MS-DOG.  A
name on MS-DOG consists of up to 8 characters, optionally followed by a
period and up to three characters.  MS-DOG will truncate extra
characters both before and after the period.  Thus, `foobarhacker.c'
and `foobarhacker.o' are not ambiguous; they are truncated to
`foobarha.c' and `foobarha.o', which are distinct.

   Include in your distribution a copy of the `texinfo.tex' you used to
test print any `*.texinfo' files.

   Likewise, if your program uses small GNU software packages like
regex, getopt, obstack, or termcap, include them in the distribution
file.  Leaving them out would make the distribution file a little
smaller at the expense of possible inconvenience to a user who doesn't
know what other files to get.


